Greenville Road Warriors | CollegeHockeyPlayers

13Dec

Jason Missiaen(31) Greenville Road Warriors

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New York Rangers‘ goalie prospect Jason Missiaen(31) is signed to a three-year entry level deal through next season.

He played exclusively in the ECHL with affiliate Greenville Road Warriors in his rookie campaign putting up respectable numbers with a couple of visits north to Connecticut Whale on recall but no game minutes.

To start 2012/2013 the mammoth 6’8″ 220 lbs. goaltender was a natural fit for an AHL job and what do you know got the nod in net on opening night. He would eventually get yanked at the start of the third after letting up 5 goals on a 38 shot barrage.

The 22-year old big man in the crease has gotten off to a soft start in his sophomore season posting a 2-3 record, which isn’t horrible but his 4.94 GAA and .850 SV% could definitely use some work.

And work he will likely get as he was recently reassigned back to Greenville to fine-tune his shot-blocking confidence.

He’s got the size and the skills but still looks to be figuring out how to move that frame into position quicker to stop more shots.

He was originally a Montreal Canadiens‘ 4th round pick in the 2008 draft (#116 overall) but was never signed.

22Nov

Shayne Wiebe(24) Connecticut Whale

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Undrafted rookie center Shayne Wiebe(24) signed an AHL contract last season with St. John’s IceCaps after participating in Winnipeg Jets‘ training camp.

12 games and 4 assists into the 2011/2012 season and he worked out a release to pursue his education and skated the rest of the year with University of New Brunswick. He was basically a point per game player.

2012 rolls in and he’s back at the pro level in training camp with Connecticut Whale, a team he played one game with signed to an ato after his career in junior hockey was up.

The 5’10” 190 lbs. forward started the season with the team but only under a pto.

After one game he was reassigned to their ECHL affiliate Greenville Road Warriors and in 12 games has socked away 7 goals and 5 assists with a +7 plus/minus.

The performance earns the 22-year a recall and another pto with the Whale. Let’s see if the former captain of Brandon Wheat Kings can make it stick.

09Nov

Scott Pitt(44) Greenville Road Warriors

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Undrafted 2nd year center Scott Pitt(44) won the ECHL Kelly Cup in rookie season with Florida Everblades, the team he joined fresh out of college at the end of the year before.

The 6′ 175 lbs. forward was a bit of a scoring machine popping in 22 goals and 36 assists in 63 games.

Going into the 2012/2013 season, he signed a deal with Greenville Road Warriors that led to a training camp invite from Connecticut Whale.

He actually played in their opening game but was released from his pto soon afterwards and sent back down.

In 10 games with the Road Warriors he’s at it again tallying 3 goals and 7 assists already.

What the 24-year lacks in overall size he definitely makes up for in the speed and getting into those open spaces on the ice department.

He played 6 games on recall with Charlotte Checkers last season, scoring 0 points but regardless of that expect him to get another crack at the Whale lineup as soon as the injury bug starts biting.

03Nov

Sebastien Piche(7) Greenville Road Warriors

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After viewing the first 8 Connecticut Whale 2012/2013 regular season games from the stands, defenseman Sebastien Piche(7) gets reassigned to help their ECHL affiliate Greenville Road Warriors.

Originally undrafted he was signed by Detroit Red Wings to a 3-year entry level deal but spent most of his playing time with either their AHL affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins or in the lower league with Toledo Walleye.

He somewhat luckily went from skating (or not) last season with the Griffins but was traded in a late transaction that sent him to Tampa Bay Lightning, where he was immediately sent all the way down to Florida Everblades for the remainder of the year; and his contract. He was given a qualifying offer at the end of the season.

The 6′ 202 lbs. blue liner played in all 18 Kelly Cup playoff games with the Everblades on their way to winning the Kelly Cup. He scored 2 goals and added 9 assists in postseason play.

He has the ability to connect with the scoresheet and looked pretty solid in the one preseason game we saw him take part in; and also put up numbers in juniors.

Maybe the 24-year is continue to work his game. He signed an AHL contract for 2012/2013 and bets are good he’ll receive a call-up quickly but will need to contribute.

23Oct

Julien Brouillette (29)

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Undrafted 5th year defenseman Julien Brouillette(29) started his pro career in the ECHL but has played the last two seasons exclusively with AHL teams.

He had career highs for games played, goals, assists, points and penalty minutes (74-7-14-21-24) last season in the league with Hershey Bears, who he was signed with for the season.

The small-ish 5’11” 185 lbs. blue liner re-upped with the club for 2012/2013 but was a healthy scratch for the first contest and reassigned to their new ECHL affiliate Reading Royals midweek for a game to get in some playing time.

He was inserted into the lineup for their second road contest and scored his first of the new campaign but sat for the home opener the next night.

The soon-to-be 26-year old will likely always be the type of player that needs to earn his spot.

08Oct

Jordie Johnston(25) Greenville Road Warriors

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Undrafted rookie center signed a one-year AHL deal with Connecticut Whale to start his first full season of pro hockey.

He skated in 3 games with interstate rival Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the end of his college career late last season. The 5’11” 185 forward didn’t hit the scoresheet in his first bid.

He participated in Whale training camp and appeared one preseason contest before being reassigned to their ECHL affiliate Greenville Road Warriors to play his first official games of the 2012/2013 season.

The 25-year old lit it up in his last college season and hopes he can carry it over into the pro ranks.

30Sep

Adam Courchaine(1) Greenville Road Warriors

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3rd year undrafted goalie Adam Courchaine(1) signs a one-year deal with Greenville Road Warriors for 2012/2013.

He was in Boston Bruins‘ system for the first couple of seasons of his pro career (one year slide on his 3-year entry level contract) but only appeared in 4 AHL games with Providence (3 of those in late 2012) through that time.

The 6’3″ 185 lbs. backstop skated mostly on reassignment in the ECHL with Alaska Aces, where he appeared in 62 games amassing a 36 – 17 – 7 record that included hoisting the Kelly Cup in 2011, his official rookie season. He only played in one postseason game but was very much a key part of the championship run.

At only 23-years old he still has time to grow into his game.

26Sep

Ashton Rome(44) Greenville Road Warriors

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Double draft pick, 7th year right wing Ashton Rome(44) makes an interesting move for the 2012/2013 season by signing with Greenville Road Warriors of the ECHL.

The move comes one season removed from his most productive AHL campaign with Portland Pirates, where he had league career highs in games played, goals and points.

He has skated in 91 games over a couple of years in the ECHL with a pair of different teams scoring 42 goals and 38 assists, so point productivity isn’t a problem for him in the lower level of hockey.

With the glut of talent being absorbed in the AHL, it’s seemingly a smart move for the almost 27-year old, who could also be setting up a path for himself post-playing pro hockey. There is little doubt he will help mentor the younger teammates and be a huge asset on ice and in the locker room.

He’ll also almost assuredly be on the short list for call-up by a number of teams and if the lockout lifts for the NHL he could find a permanent spot in the AHL sooner than later.

The 6’1 205 lbs. forward was originally a Boston Bruins’ 4th round pick in the 2004 draft (#108 overall) but was thrown back in the pool and picked up in the 5th round of 2006 by San Jose Sharks (#143 overall).

23Sep

Sam Klassen(3) Connecticut Whale

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3rd year defenseman Sam Klassen(3) signs a one-year AHL deal with Connecticut Whale after spending most his first two seasons with the team while under an entry-level contract with their parent club, New York Rangers.

With all the depth on the Blueshirts‘ blue line, it was tough for the undrafted d-man to make an impression. He appeared in a career high 36 AHL games in 2011/2012 and put up his first pro point, an assist.

At 6’1 195 lbs. he doesn’t play an overly physical game but put up some offensive numbers in juniors, so the team must think the 23-year old still has the ability to become a puck-moving defenseman as a pro.

In 89 ECHL games with Greenville Road Warriors he’s scored 4 times and added 19 assists with most of those coming in his rookie campaign, when he got to spend more time with just one minor leage team.

He’ll need to step it up in training camp and early in the preseason to earn a roster spot.

11Aug

Lee Baldwin(77) Greenville Road Warriors

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Undrafted 3rd year defenseman Lee Baldwin(77) signed a 2-year entry level deal with New York Rangers to start his pro career. But that didn’t necessarily mean if he failed to make the NHL roster he was automatically going to end up with their AHL affiliate. In fact, he played in more ECHL games over the last two seasons with Greenville Road Warriors (85 total, 8 goals and 21 assists with a +16 rating) than he did with Connecticut Whale (38 for 0 points).

Heading into 2012/2013 as an unrestricted free agent, the 24-year old, 6’4″ 205 lbs. blue liner, signed a one-year deal to play again with the Road Warriors. No doubt, if Connecticut needs a defenseman, he’ll be the first called up, signed to a pto.